WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: Maytag and Samsung Brand Front Loading Washing Machines

Units: About 250,000 Maytag-brand units and about 20,000 Samsung-brand units

Distributor: Maytag Corp., of Newton, Iowa, and Samsung Electronics America Inc., of Ridgefield Park, N.J.

Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., of South Korea

Hazard: Water leakage onto the electrical connections to the washing machine’s thermal sensor could cause an electrical short and ignite a circuit board, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Maytag has received five reports of incidents involving ignition in the circuit board. Samsung has received one report of an incident involving ignition in the circuit board. No injuries, fires or property damage outside the washing machine have been reported.

Description and Models: The recall involves certain Maytag and Samsung brand front-load washers. The Maytag washers have model numbers beginning with MAH9700 or MAH8700. The Samsung model number WF306BHW or a model number beginning with WF316. Not all serial numbers are subject to the recall. The model and serial numbers are located on a tag at the bottom of the door opening. Maytag models with a serial number ending in the last two letters identified below are subject to the recall:

Sample Maytag Serial Number: 10123456GN

Samsung models with the six-digit number 100001 through 799999 prior to a letter at the end of the serial number are subject to the recall:

Sample Samsung Serial Number: 230854AL300026B

Sold at: Major department and appliance stores nationwide from April 2005 through August 2006 for between $1,000 and $1,200.

Manufactured in: South Korea

Remedy: Consumers should immediately contact the firm for information on how to receive a free repair. Consumers should not return the washing machine to the retailer where it was purchased.

Consumer Contact: For more information, consumers can call Maytag toll-free at (800) 868-5109 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Maytag’s Web site at www.washerrecall.com – Samsung customers can call (800) 515-7902 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Samsung’s Web site at www.Samsung.com/washerrecall

Maytag Media Contact: Monica Teague, (269) 923-7405 or monica.teague@Whirlpool.com

Samsung Media Contact: Deborah Szajngarten at (201) 229-4090 or dszajngarten@sea.samsung.com